For many years, I shared a hangar with an airline Captain who eventually retired. His Piper Super Cruiser stayed in our hangar for 20+ years full of dust and dirt. He got a ferry permit, added gas and took off to have it professionally restored. He crashed about 4 minutes later.
you can't help stupid. Stay in aviation long enough you occasionally come across this kind of personality type. Best to get as far away as possible once you do.
I knew the accident pilot and I scratch my head at the decision he made or the circumstances surrounding it. It’s easy to sit alive on the internet and not see the Swiss cheese model which stacks up to a mishap. Instead of saying, “That could never happen to me.” Change the perspective to, “how could I find myself in the same situation?” Many pilots kill themselves by exceeding their experience to handle a situation. Fortunately, channels like this allow you to learn by their poor decisions and better equip you with experience.
So often we are reminded: Rules and Regulations are written in the failures of others. Thankfully only 1 fatality and no pre-flight casualties during fuel leak fiasco.
I think you'll find that the saying is more like: Rules, Regulations and Standards are written in blood. I am an engineer and I have worked in some industries where the rules are incredibly strict and you here all the time in such industries about its written in blood and sometimes "the blood of innocents" as an allusion to the fact most times the people actually responsible are NOT held accountable.
I hadno idea Doug was the owner - thought he was just the ferry pilot but guess I really did not know. He was a retired 20 year Continental Captain, Boeing flight instructor, Beech conpany instructor. I have no idea why he did this flight. I am truly amazed. Maybe at 78 or 79 years old he thought he was bullet proof. Am wondering if he would have tried this flight 20 years ago and guess probably not.
@@pittss2c601, I read an article about that issue a long time ago. One conclusion/theory was that airline pilots are so used to having a copilot handle the heads down aspects of aviating, navigating, and communicating that they get overwhelmed when they have to do all those tasks by themselves in addition to actually physically flying the aircraft.
I knew Colonel Captain Doug and was under the same impression. I have no idea what he was thinking and wish he hadn’t made up his mind on that decision. He was like no one I’ve ever met.
I used to fly these in Canada back in the 90's. They are fast and a challenge to handle for inexperienced pilots. Safety starts on the ground. I risked my career many times by refusing to fly in adverse conditions, overweight or with any kind of fault. Maybe the reason why I'm not flying anymore. But I'm alive. Cheers from Norway.
I've got nearly 1000 hrs in the PA-31P *Pressurized Navajo* and in my experience, the Lycoming TIGO-541, 425 hp geared engines are temperamental and delicate to manage on their best days. Having them sit in a field for several years and then expecting them to do anything but fly you directly to the scene of the accident, is being overly-optimistic. Of course, having rotten, leaky fuel bladders so the aircraft is being bathed in avgas is also probably going to contribute to a bad outcome.
If fuel is leaking out, that also means air is leaking in. The potential for a vapour lock is incalculable. That might be the reason he never got full power - it's a fuel delivery problem.
I was around a P-Navajo some did pilot service for the owners I flew the company CR. Much better aircraft. Tried to talk them into a Cheyenne. To no avail. One day , I noticed a slight miss in the left engine. Told the mechanic. He said he heard it too. Was told to Ignore it. When the boss got back from his fishing trip to Montana (he was the pilot) he'd have a look. Engine failure enroute if the thing barfed on takeoff on a Backcountry strip. He sold the P. (2nd Engine in 800 hrs.) Used the CR for quite a while then a C-90
Sometimes it’s financial stress. Sometimes it’s too much commitment to the dream of what the owner envisions the plane to be once it is restored or updated. Stardust.
I have personally been there. It sucks, keeps you up at night worrying that you've squandered your life savings and will never recoup your money. But the worst thing you can do is double down on stupid - when the 3rd ferry pilot specifically told him "No, none of us will fly that thing, it's not safe", he should have called it quits and reevaluated his options.
Ironically, this flight likely completely solved the financial problems. Insurance doesn't cover suicide, but it DOES cover stupidity. His insurance will pay out and his next of kin will be doing alright.
Brings back memories of Ohio and my best friend. Her Grandfather lived on their farm with the fam. Grandpa was in his late 70's and he had an airplane out under a pole barn in the middle of a field. For years everytime I was there he was out working on that plane. I asked my friend if he ever flew in it....and she said no....he was just working on it. Her Mom then said.....that plane is never going up in the air but Grandpa doesn't know that. This, keeps him happy, busy...tinkering away at it.
The person filming this didn’t seem to think it was going to go well. Guessing that’s why they were filming? Did they know him and the situation with the plane or just coincidence that they were filming? Many questions
I’m usually reluctant to find any capriciousness whatsoever in a fatal accident but in this case I must make an exception. It appears to be a clear-cut case of suicide by aircraft.
One poor decision, followed by another, and another, until they crash the airplane. If they are lucky, they walk away. That scenario is being played out weekly it seems. Unfortunately he wasn't lucky that day, and didn't walk away. So very sad. My deepest condolences for the family and friends who now grieve their loss.
I once did an inspection on a Skymaster that was kept in a field uncovered for long periods and the damage done by rats and mice was amazing since they chew up wires, etc. (Removing dead ones is assigned to the newest A&P).
I know of a Seneca sitting IN a hangar for 3 month that had been mouse infested and had tens of thousands dollars worth of damage due to them little ctritters...
I think you nailed it, Juan. It's easy to just call the pilot foolish, but to understand the financial or time pressures that can cause someone to disregard their better judgment is something every pilot should be alert to.
I worked at mattituck aviation. One time a guy came in a big twin Cessna . We gave him a price for engine overhaul . We red tagged his rat engine , it was making so much metal. He didn’t like our price. He got a cheaper price in Texas , he took off on 2200 ft run way on both engines. Then flew to Texas on one engine😂
"Texas" Every shady, half assed, semi criminal deal in business aviation I've ever been involved with, has come out of Texas. Not all......but given relatively equal pricing, and a choice between an unknown Texas shop, and one north of the Mason-Dixon, I'm going with them Yankees every time. Like the repaint on a C-750 the pilot was getting quotes on. "Legit" shops (Duncan, West Star) were quoting around $100k. A shop in the DFW area quoted $25k. I was asked to review the bid. For starters, anyone with half a brain knew they were cutting corners somewhere. I made a laundry list of questions that I had. Might as well have talked it over with the gerbils at the pet store. You can probably guess whose bid they took. Needless to say, it didn't turn out well. The problems started a couple of weeks before the completion date, when all the employee (bi-weekly) paychecks bounced.
The takeoff run looked more like a high-speed taxi. I agree. The owner undoubtedly knew better. This is why he tried to hire somebody else to ferry the plane. 🤷♂️ That fuel leak would have scared the hell out of me....
That takeoff speed barely looked like a fast taxi, frightening! Thanks, Juan for just reporting the facts and not putting ego and attitude into a conclusion like another accident reporting TH-camr.
@@goldeneaglejk2678 at least not without having an oil analysis and opening the filter to check for anything unusual. Long story short if you’re going to invest in $100,000 plus airplane what’s the cost of an oil change, right?
@@LowWingFlyer The major fuel leak is the key point. The bladders were dry rotted to the point where they probably contaminated the fuel with small particles of rubber not to mention what else was growing in there.
We have a very similar Navajo at our field. These engines weren't even close to full power, I can't understand how he would continue. He should have hired those experienced Navajo pilots to at least do some high speed taxi tests or something.
With 2,500+ hours in PA31 variants and tail (we call it rego) numbers flying around the Australian outback as my main job for a number of years, I can say I ferried a PA31-350 with gear down for 200 miles because of a broken microswitch which made the gear retraction impossible. The best I got in an otherwise perfectly serviceable airframe was 120 KIAS approx. and seriously reduced climb performance. Luckily it was under VFR conditions, and I could stay low and slow. Once I finally landed back at home base (YBAF), I made a mental note not to do *that* again. During the exemplar video take-off roll, there was a definite audible beat/split in power between the two sides. I would have rejected that take-off - the pilot would have had a very asymmetric rudder input to stay even on the runway.
You could see it once he became airborne. The plane precessed to the right rather severely until it cleared the horizon. I wonder what the wind conditions were.
"There are a lot of parts inside those engines, and all they want to do is...GET OUT!" said a corporate pilot who used to fly one. On a cold winter day, he would arrive very early for a flight, get the plane outside and run it up until it was nice and toasty. Then when the passengers arrived for the flight he would be nearly ready to go when they were. The engines have a 1200 hour TBO, for good reason.
He had to have known half way down that runway the engines were not performing enough for a take off, especially with gear down. Such a waste of life and a what could have been a beautiful airplane with the proper care and maintenance.
OH my ...how horrible ...Doug was highly respected member of our EAA chapter! From the testimonies of friends at his memorial service I understood he was ferrying the aircraft as favor for the owner! NOT that he was the owner!????
The registry does show a different owner. I know those are horribly out of date sometimes, but I unless it changed hands in the last year or two, the pilot did not appear to be the owner.
Fatally poor decision making whoever the pilot was. I'm thinking it was someone with a big watch and shiny big brass ones; we've all know the kind at one time or another when we've been around airports long enough.
We had a guy trying to fly a British Beagle 206 out of a local airport back in 2002. Very similar circumstances. Airplane sat for a long time. Pilot couldn't get the engines started. Mechanic drained almost 3 gallons of water out. Pilot filled up but no one observed him sumping fuel. A witness observed the airplane use almost all the runway and barely climb. He stalled and spun into a local neighborhood. The airplane sprayed avgas all over the front of a house and set it on fire. If I'm not mistaken, they determined the left engine wasn't making power at time of impact, and to crash into that neighborhood you had to make a left turn. So he was turning into the dead engine. Also, I believe the aircraft was out of annual by a year.
the real question is "what was he feeling--emotionally--" rather than "what was he thinking". what emotional state led him to discount major components of reality??? what is obvious, is that this pilot did not perform and "IMSAFE" checklist.
I learned a long time ago that some airplanes you can get into for cheap (relatively) but they are very very expensive to maintain putting you squarely behind the eight ball 🎱.
@@scarybaldguycheap twins are always hell. If you’re not paying at least half a million expect at least one major 5 figure bill to bring the plane up to code
this type of outcome is often the result of someone having more confidence in his flying abilities than he does of the characteristics of the aircraft he is flying. An aircraft sitting in the elements from 2015 - 2023 with rubber fuel bladders shouldn't have gone anywhere near the skies with fuel leakage on top of that. Rest in peace, but he should still be here. As you said, Juan, he had PLENTY OF TIME to reject that takeoff.
The same guys that buy these are the same guys buying 500 series Citations for $300k, and think they got a bargain. They then "update" their bargain, by adding ADS-B, and some kind of Garmin retrofit STC. In the meantime, the 40 year old airframe, and all of its components are "okay as is". One of the problems being that spares for these airplanes are getting harder to find, at any price. Like Hs-125 or Astra/G100 windshields. Or early Citation pressurization controllers. Or standby horizons/altimeters/airspeed indicators. A lot of stuff is now totally unsupported. Exchange pools are going the way of the dodo.......nobody wants to invest in exchange parts for airplanes also going the way of the dodo. And even if the OEM of the component is not watching the grass grow from the wrong side of the turf line, they can't get parts. Or anybody who will work for what they are willing to pay. So "lead times" for repairs are pushing 60-90 days, assuming you can find someone to work on it. Who will then charge you $600-1000 up front, before they will even look at it. Here's a new phrase for your aviation phrase book: "Uneconomic to Repair". All you guys flying old and/or low production airplanes will be hearing it a lot. If you follow anything that's going on in GA, you will know that there are a bunch of pilots who think inspections and maintenance are just excuses by mechanics to steal money from them. Instead of having full time mechanics for their airplanes, they either do without, and live with problems until they become impossible to ignore, or sign on with "management companies" that have 5-10 mechanics covering 15-20 airplanes, with some of them on different airports (or even different states). After 40 plus years working on bizjets, and recently been given a choice between taking a 25% pay cut, or quitting, I'm done....... either retiring a little early, or taking a better paying job with more respect that has nothing to do with aviation. I've been telling pilots/managers who will listen about these upcoming issues for 10-15 years. Hardly any of them do. Like classic cars, shiny new paint and interiors seem to magically revive everything on the airplane.
I have a bunch of time maintaining a p Navajo as well as standard Navajo and chieftains. The p Navajo uses 425 hp tigo-541 lycomings. An absolute beast of an engine. That sounded like maybe 70% power. There are a series of valves and pumps in the wing roots. Fuel selector, 2 boost pumps, a fuel strainer, and a firewall shutoff valve. I suspect one of these had a large leak and partially starved the engine. There is also the problem with the turbo. These babies should make 54 inches of manifold pressure at 3200 rpm (geared engine).
I know people right now who are operating aircraft on a shoestring, but since I have 9k hours and they have 15-20k hours, I'm still just a puppy who is yet to come around to their level of experience and understand their logic.
He didn’t deserve to die, but man he’s stupid. He had every opportunity to reject the TO & not to mention just wait for the plane to be in an airworthy condition
So many opportunities to reject that takeoff and live. Even after he ran out of runway, he could have still ditched it in the field. Did he think the engines would suddenly magically heal themselves and start producing?
This accident is particularly troubling...I can't imagine an FAA FSDO giving that airplane a ferry permit...I've ferried some real junkers, but not until they had at least rudimentary maintenance to bring them up to an airworthy condition. Ferried a 1965 Cherokee 180 that had sat for over 10-years! Which led to more ferry flights of more aerial junks...Later flying cancelled checks for a 135 operator, the airplanes weren't a whole lot better!
When I was working for a certain major airline here in the US I was a Captain sitting reserve. I was called and assigned to "ferry" a DC-9 with a flap problem of some sort. I was NOT part of Flight Ops Management and they certainly DID NOT have a valid ferry permit issued. I refused and immediately informed my union of this violation.
I've known people that have their own ideas about things and no matter what you say, you can not talk them out of bad ideas. Unfortunately, this guys' bad idea killed him.
I don't ask for a ferry permit until i know an aircraft has normal gross weight takeoff performance. A max power taxi to rotation speed followed by a coast down at idle, is really useful. This one definitely didn't have the requisite performance. The immediate goal after taking off, is to climb to at least 3000 feet before proceeding on course. SAD story.
I Hated doing Hit checks (health indicator tests) on both engines every flight when I was a crewcheif on uh60s'...But that's how I'm still alive with 1000+ hours and one PL
Navajo driver here. I can’t imagine how little boost that motor was making to not fly. We have a 310 we fly at gross 6850 with VG and that airplane comes of the ground effortlessly with 230 less horsepower.
One thing that's reality but not always easy to accept is the fact that we all have free will. The pilots that turned this down were the gentle equivalent of grabbing the keys from his hands. But, he went anyway. It really defies logic and is hard to watch. God rest his soul.
I used to fly a bell 205 on forest fires in Canada one day (a very foggy day ) a forest officer want to go to the fire across a river from base camp ..5 pilots including me refused, visibility was horrid but he finally found a pilot to ferry him across the river.. That was the last we saw of him and the Pilot…they crashed halfway across in zero vis. Both killed, the pilot was experienced with thousands of hours on type ..to this day I don’t know what he as thinking ..just like an experienced pilot flying something not airworthy..to risk your life… I just don’t get the thought process
You sometimes see this with older professionals. Dale Earnhardt is a good example. He had access to a HANS device but didn't like wearing it. Would it have saved him? Maybe. But not having it certainly make it almost impossible to survive that crash. You get complacent as you get older to the fact that what you are doing is dangerous every time you do it. For instance, my grandfather ( as another example )... did woodworking for years and years. Then one day, well, he got a little sloppy and ended up with 1/3 less of one of his fingers. Skill and experience don't mean it's any less dangerous.
I'm retired after a long career in Aviation ... I feel very Sad for this Man ... And took note so it Won't happen to me. 68 now and 27k hours . " You are as Good a Pilot as your last landing "
I heard that the Aerosmith's crew turned down that aircraft prior. Skynyrd's manager wanted to cut costs for their trip, so sent them on that plane with badly tuned engines...the rest is history.
As an A&P/ IA with a Commercial Pilot/Multi Engine. I have turned down several owners that have contacted me over the years wth airplanes that have been sitting for 9 to 10 years without some much as running the engines and want an annual inspection so they can unload the airplane. I let them know up front what would be involved and what I expect. Have always turned them down. I had my Pilots license first. When I went to the FSDO to get my A&P certificate the old inspector gave me the best advise. He said " the most dangerous thing in the world is a pilot with a tool box"! I have run across more bad decision making cheap owners in my career. 😮
A recent accident involving owner maintenance (see his You-Tube channel) was a Piper Malibu totaled on landing after the nosewheel didn't align after gear extension. Owner had just paid for new engine and avionics and was planning a new interior and possible sale or trade for a new plane. Owner admitted he tried to adjust the nosewheel strut or scissors himself without consulting factory service, possibly to save money. I think part of this is the FAR's don't mandate good judgement, it's assumed pilots already possess that. This was difficult to watch, no acceleration past the camera and no abort.
Just because you see a person sitting on a motorcycle, that does NOT mean you saw a biker, let alone a proficient one. Just because you see a person with a wrench in his hand, that does NOT mean you just met a mechanic... AND Just because you saw a person sitting in an airplane, that does NOT mean you just saw a pilot. I've met a LOT of machine owners and operators with collections of tools. I've seen a LOT of truly REMARKABLY EGREGIOUS flaws and outright failures in the decision-making paradigms of the people using those tools trying to fix just about everything... as "relatively minor" as taking the guards off a tablesaw, to as ridiculous as paperclips, old nails, and random wires run through the keeper holes and slots on automotive axles keeping the hubs in place... People BETTING THEIR LIVES on these gambles, and 90% of them are entirely about being too cheap and lazy to walk to the parts place and buy the requisite hardware to fix it properly... Just the axle... That keeper hole/slot configuration is SUPPOSED to be held in place by a COTTER PIN... It's not even a special kind of one! It's going to cost 15 Cents... and the time to go get one and install it properly... BUT no. Let's put a nail in and BEAT IT OVER WITH A HAMMER instead... That oughta do... There's a LOT of really dangerous people out there being dangerous entirely because they have this mistaken ideal that JUST knowing the difference between a claw hammer and a wrench qualifies them to work on ANYTHING... at all. ;o)
@@bernieschiff5919as a certified diesel mechanic...I agree 100% with your comment. I've seen it all in my 25+ years as diesel mechanic. Especially when it comes to wiring. Open up the dash and it a literal rats nest of wires ...all going to a big glob where they get power. Ive put the dash back together and said " I can't help you"! Or get the cutters and start cutting. Snip snip snip throwing handfuls of wires out on the floor. And these are dump trucks and heavy equipment that don't leave the ground,mostly. I can only imagine what some fool would try in an aircraft.
My ex boss had his private pilot certificate for over 15 yrs..He was from Venezuela.He currently had a 18 wheeler trucking business and a diesel engine repair shop based out of Orlando FL...He bought an old Cessna 152 and was repairing it ,I assumed with a certified aviation mechanic... Obviously I guess he tried to save money and scam the system!! He took off in his 152 single engine airplane with 2 of his buddies.Had engine issues,lost power and instead of immediately push that nose down he fought it!! Stalled the old plane killed himself and his buddies.. Another pilot with a tool box!! Your saying makes total sense to me now!! RIP Ernesto!!
@blancolirio could we get a rundown from you on that N28JV Beechcraft that crashed in Malaysia killing 10 total about 5 days ago ? Thanks!!!! Love all your work
This probably started with the title picture of the plane sitting in the field. It looked pretty nice, very tempting to do a little bit of work on it and have a nice plane cheap. Or maybe he watched "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo".
This is a little like one of those "will it run and drive 300 miles home" videos, except with not being able to pull over at the parts store for more whatever.
Man, it was so obvious he wasn't making enough power. My goodness, what was so important that he had to make that flight that day. Another one that was so unnecessary!!
"SPECIAL FLIGHT PERMITS" are the FAAs way of letting you move an unairworthy airplane to a shop for repair. Basically, they let the owner/pilot become the "certifying authority", and make the a/w call. As an FAA buddy told me once "we'll give an SFP to a grilled cheese sandwich, if some guy says he thinks it's safe to fly" Note that one of the typical requirements of an SFP is a flight plan by as direct a route as possible to the maintenance shop that avoids populated areas. I'd love to see a copy of application for the SFP, and see what was mentioned, and what wasnt.
My dad's best friend was an old pilot. He flew commercially to age 75. His longest ride was in a Navajo like this. He was the mechanic as well as the pilot. Paul would have it no other way. He parted ways with the company when the owner's son insisted on flying. After the son committed a gear-up landing, he stayed on long enough to rebuild the Navajo, then went to another company where he completed his commercial pilot career.
@@SteamCraneme too, and they have nothing to do with aircrafts or pilots... Entitlement is dangerous, especially at work places involving big machinery.
Thank you. Since the Kobe Bryant incident, I have non-aviation friends that have subscribed after watching that series of vids. I appreciate your breakdowns and look forward to seeing more STOL stuff.
@blancolirio - can you give us your thoughts on the N53RP crash - single pilot operation of a Beechcraft C99 (operating as Wiggin 1046). Very strange case. Loss of situational awareness, coupled with icing?
Alan Douglas Moler, known as Doug, passed away on July 20, 2023, leaving behind a legacy that will forever be cherished. Born on January 19, 1944, Doug lived a life filled with adventure, passion, and a deep love for aviation. Doug's career soared to great heights as a Retired Captain for Continental Airlines. With an impressive tenure of 20 years, he considered himself incredibly fortunate to have been able to make a living doing what he loved most - flying. His unwavering dedication and expertise in the field of aviation earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues and peers.
@@williamford9564Stupid analogy. A pilot who made a terrible mistake is not Hitler, and when writing about the totality of a well-lived life you don’t let one mistake override the rest. Sad truth is that for many, decision making is impacted in the late 70s. His stupid mistake doesn’t take away a lengthy and honored career.
Ferry Pilot #1 "Don't wanna die... Ferry Pilot #2 "Don't wanna die" Ferry Pilot #3 I know other ferry pilots, they are better than I Owner with 100' to end of runway... Maybe Pilot 1 was correct.. at threshold Pretty sure pilot 2 was correct.. Just before impact "Might should have listened to ferry pilot 3.....
Basic airmanship says to reject that takeoff when it's obvious the plane isn't gaining the required airspeed. Instead, he continued the takeoff roll until the very end of the runway then forced it off.
Doing that kind of thing, it's as if he had a death wish. Or just a refusal to accept the danger of what he was attempting. To try to fly with the engines developing so little power is hard to fathom. There was something going on with either a lack of fuel flow, or the engines had lost their compression from sitting so long. But not getting enough fuel seems the likely culprit.
How is the leaking fuel not a Haz-Mat violation that should be reported to ARFF and remedied before granting access to a runway? Are the fueling trucks not obligated to report fuel leaks?
Because I read codes as a part of my job I just read this code section: "1106.11.5 The Fire Department shall be notified if... the fuel flow(leak) is continuous."
if it's a towerless airport all the fueler can do is tell them it's leaking, document and notify the airport. other than that there isn't much they can do to stop him.
@@Bottleworksnet It was just my shorthand for fire department. My wish going forward is that they don't issue ferry tickets to leaking aircraft. Guess not.
That P-Navajo shoulda been left in the weeds, stripped of the engines and defueled (or dewatered) so the owner's grandkids could play Sky King in it. What was the owner/pilot thinking indeed.
looks and sounds like a money vs maintenance issue - the plane isn't at fault, its simply old and parts fail, and probably not updated i watch Jimmy's World, and i have to say i take my hat off to him, he may rescue planes with a similar history, but he sure does throw some money at them, he knows what's likely to go wrong and gets them upgraded, the engine and fuel tank issues seem pretty common on these twin engine planes, fuel between tanks and wing tip tanks especially, then magnetos and all the electrics that make the lightning rods go ping - it sounds pretty hairy when other pilots turned down the offer, it's a near nail in the coffin i think RIP to the pilot
Looking at the paperwork, it looks like the plane was originally from a small airstrip 12 miles away (Mosby, Missouri). This might explain it - that they were planning on making several short flights to get to Kingman, Kansas (About 200 miles further), and had made the first one successfully?
@@josephoberlander its a real shame there isn't a gadget to measure LUCK, when it runs out don't fly - sadly so much is down to luck, it really makes you wonder especially here in the UK when old planes crash the rules of aviation become tighter, maintenance and so on
"Will it run?" is fine for some 50 year old vehicle that one finds in a field. If it doesn't work out, wait for the next video) "Will it fly?" Nope. Just don't...
All too often people take chances they should not take. Complex aircraft are not to be taken lightly. Too much to go wrong. The allure of these forgotten planes seems to be the relative cheap up front cost to purchase. However, underneath that exterior there is so much breakage to fix. "A Fool begins by saying foolish things." Ecclesiastes 10:13-20 R.I.P. to the pilot.
I had the opportunity to ferry a single once that was a hanger queen for 14 years. I looked the airframe over extensively and was satisfied, but the motor, it ran, had compression, didn’t leak but I was not comfortable with it so I passed! Intuition has saved by bacon a number of times in 40years of flying! It did make it to the destination safely!
I would be very interested to know if the CAA in UK would have granted such a permit. I know that many states in USA are very lax on the inspection of road vehicles, perhaps it's the same for aircraft?
Wow!! Worst case of get there itis I've ever seen. It was quite obvious that plane was a wounded duck just listening to those engines. He could have put it in the grass at the end of the runway too. I feel bad for them but lord, you have to have some common sense.
Juan ... great review. I live in Kearney (pronounced like Carne ... asada) and this made the front page of the paper. Yes, what was the last pilot thinking??? One more minor correction ... Mosby (with a long O sound).
Yes, having grown up in the Kansas City area, Missouri is infamous for unintuituve pronunciations of several city names, to trip up the uninitiated... Versailles (verSALES) Nevada (nehVAYduh) Cape Girardeau (jirAREdough) :)
Should have just popped the wings off and packed it up onto a skateboard and shipped it to Kansas. I mean yeah, little more expensive but cheaper than a funeral
I’ve done this twice now, the first flight after a long time out of service (my personal plane was sat for a decade almost). You have to be SO careful, I had an FAA IA fly down and monitor the work that was done. My worry is if something went wrong, my report would sound an awful lot like this. It took us 3 weeks of engine runs and chasing problems around and witnesses’ would absolutely have said ‘his engine isn’t running right’ etc. Even though everything was done safely. Hence I would love to hear more about the mechanic for this one, did he do all that? Or just kick the tyres and go flying? Why was the fuel leaks left alone? And who on earth doesn’t at least sort the engines out before flying?
This is why I say engine failure is more than twice as likely in a twin - because there is the temptation to operate the aircraft with one engine in less than optimal condition, relying on the other one. When I only have one, if it isn't running right it's pretty easy for me to say "not today" rather than "it'll be fine. You know, they don't publish a best rate of climb speed for gear down and one engine making 50% power, only for clean with both engines at maximum - set himself up to be the test pilot and didn't last long enough to figure it out (if it was even possible, which it might not have been). My dad is also retired Continental (after F-100s and F-105s for USAF). I was really surprised when his last Continental trip was actually his last flight. He had been a partner in 4 planes and about half the hangers at the local airport. He said he had know to many guys who didn't know when to hang up the spurs, so he was going to err on the safe side - and that mom had worried about him for almost 40 years, and she didn't need to anymore. They have too many friends who are the widows of pilots. Dad is 88 now, and has been retired from Continental longer than he was there. He hasn't spent a night away from mom since 1995, except for a couple weeks in Oshkosh. My three kids were born after he retired, and it's kind of amazing that none of them ever rode with him as the pilot, and never looked up wondering if it was him when they heard a plane - but I'm really glad he's been around to know them.
@@richsarchet9762 that is the best story on here, your nearly 90-year old father gave your mom the ultimate gift and kind consideration; I remember my mom cringing when dad would circle to land in his twin-engine Beech. A lot of the time I was in the right seat, good memories.
At what point does it just make more since to buy a new plane than to try and fully restore a plane that had sit for 10 years? I would imagine the cost of having someone from the faa fly to your location then be there just to monitor the process would be enough for a nice down payment on an a new model the equivalent of the plane you were fixing up. I once restored a 94 sunbird my sister crashed that sat in my mom's garage for 2 years back in 2004. So the car was only 10 years old and spent 2 years in a garage. Everything that was rubber (besides the tires) had to be replaced. Everytime I would change a hose, especially one carrying coolant, another hose in its circuit would bust until every single one had been replaced. This was just one of the many problems I had working on a car that had sat in a garage for 2 years. So I can't imagine how many problems a plane would have that sat in a field for 7 years or 10 years wherever you had yours sitting.
@@bradsanders407 It does make more sense, but what if everyone did that? We’d run out of planes FAST. Its up to us in this hobby to keep these planes flying rather than let them rot. Not to mention on my plane I’ll know every piece of maintenance work that was done, so I’m not paying for unknown maintenance that may or may not match the logs but I have to just trust them. I’m not paying for someone elses paint job, I can have the plane looking the way I want it rather than the value add that a new paint scheme is. I’m not paying for avionics that the last guy thought was important, I get to put what I want/need for my requirements. Also, I’m not just another in a long line of owners, I’m not just the pilot etc. I have a much more personal connection with my plane if I’m the one that restored it to flight. After all, this is a hobby, its for fun, and I enjoy the idea of flying MY Comanche around, not just a Comanche.
For many years, I shared a hangar with an airline Captain who eventually retired. His Piper Super Cruiser stayed in our hangar for 20+ years full of dust and dirt. He got a ferry permit, added gas and took off to have it professionally restored. He crashed about 4 minutes later.
Tell me if this is a real story.
Should have flown on the back of a flatbed.
@@2Phast4Rocket it's real
Glad he retired. I guess it's better crashing his own airplane than an airliner with 100's of passengers 🙁
In a hanger sitting it shouldn't have been in terrible shape. Old fuel clog up the carb or something? Sorry to hear that.
Three ferry pilots refused to do the ferry flight? That should have sent a VERY clear message to the owner.
Remember: "Arguing with a fool, just proves that there are 2 of them"...
you can't help stupid. Stay in aviation long enough you occasionally come across this kind of personality type. Best to get as far away as possible once you do.
I knew the accident pilot and I scratch my head at the decision he made or the circumstances surrounding it.
It’s easy to sit alive on the internet and not see the Swiss cheese model which stacks up to a mishap. Instead of saying, “That could never happen to me.” Change the perspective to, “how could I find myself in the same situation?”
Many pilots kill themselves by exceeding their experience to handle a situation. Fortunately, channels like this allow you to learn by their poor decisions and better equip you with experience.
What if the dead pilot wasn't disclosed three pilots declined before... that's shady...
money, the lack of OR the desire of@@boommasterkc-135____8
So often we are reminded: Rules and Regulations are written in the failures of others. Thankfully only 1 fatality and no pre-flight casualties during fuel leak fiasco.
...in the failure of others (who may or may not be truculent transgressive bleep-wits).
Correction, regulations are written in the blood of others.
Pretty sure the owner got his insurance paid in full...
I think you'll find that the saying is more like: Rules, Regulations and Standards are written in blood.
I am an engineer and I have worked in some industries where the rules are incredibly strict and you here all the time in such industries about its written in blood and sometimes "the blood of innocents" as an allusion to the fact most times the people actually responsible are NOT held accountable.
Yeah, it cannot be pleasant for the lineman to have fuel gushing out of the aircraft!
another excellent analysis....you continue bring us truth and not speculation.....keep it going....
But it is speculation with conviction...
I hadno idea Doug was the owner - thought he was just the ferry pilot but guess I really did not know. He was a retired 20 year Continental Captain, Boeing flight instructor, Beech conpany instructor. I have no idea why he did this flight. I am truly amazed. Maybe at 78 or 79 years old he thought he was bullet proof. Am wondering if he would have tried this flight 20 years ago and guess probably not.
I have flown with many airline pilots who are not so great. Many, not all, lack skill and judgement for GA aircraft.
looking for more backstory. Thanks.
@@pittss2c601,
I read an article about that issue a long time ago. One conclusion/theory was that airline pilots are so used to having a copilot handle the heads down aspects of aviating, navigating, and communicating that they get overwhelmed when they have to do all those tasks by themselves in addition to actually physically flying the aircraft.
I knew Colonel Captain Doug and was under the same impression. I have no idea what he was thinking and wish he hadn’t made up his mind on that decision. He was like no one I’ve ever met.
The Airbus computer makes you a good pilot.
I used to fly these in Canada back in the 90's. They are fast and a challenge to handle for inexperienced pilots. Safety starts on the ground. I risked my career many times by refusing to fly in adverse conditions, overweight or with any kind of fault. Maybe the reason why I'm not flying anymore. But I'm alive. Cheers from Norway.
Sweet! Good judgement beats superior pilot skills in a pinch like this! 😂😂
Did you go to NAIA in South Carolina ?
Watching that take off gave me the same feeling I have when I look at my 401K.
Bidenomics is an unrecoverable death spiral
😂 haaaaAAAaA!
Yep, FJB!
You misspelled FDJT, but spelling is likely not your strong point
@@shoalsailing Don't get your LGBTQIA2S+ panties in a wad.
I've got nearly 1000 hrs in the PA-31P *Pressurized Navajo* and in my experience, the Lycoming TIGO-541, 425 hp geared engines are temperamental and delicate to manage on their best days. Having them sit in a field for several years and then expecting them to do anything but fly you directly to the scene of the accident, is being overly-optimistic. Of course, having rotten, leaky fuel bladders so the aircraft is being bathed in avgas is also probably going to contribute to a bad outcome.
My mechanic used to call the pressurized Navajo a pig-aho. Sounds like he was right.
😣
If fuel is leaking out, that also means air is leaking in. The potential for a vapour lock is incalculable. That might be the reason he never got full power - it's a fuel delivery problem.
I was around a P-Navajo some did pilot service for the owners I flew the company CR. Much better aircraft. Tried to talk them into a Cheyenne. To no avail. One day , I noticed a slight miss in the left engine. Told the mechanic. He said he heard it too. Was told to Ignore it.
When the boss got back from his fishing trip to Montana (he was the pilot) he'd have a look. Engine failure enroute if the thing barfed on takeoff on a Backcountry strip.
He sold the P. (2nd Engine in 800 hrs.) Used the CR for quite a while then a C-90
How do you know it had that particular engine?
As an A&P who has helped with pre ferry inspections myself, some of the shit I’ve seen is terrifyingly scary lol.
Sometimes it’s financial stress. Sometimes it’s too much commitment to the dream of what the owner envisions the plane to be once it is restored or updated. Stardust.
I have personally been there. It sucks, keeps you up at night worrying that you've squandered your life savings and will never recoup your money.
But the worst thing you can do is double down on stupid - when the 3rd ferry pilot specifically told him "No, none of us will fly that thing, it's not safe", he should have called it quits and reevaluated his options.
Ironically, this flight likely completely solved the financial problems. Insurance doesn't cover suicide, but it DOES cover stupidity. His insurance will pay out and his next of kin will be doing alright.
Sometimes it's too old and stubborn.
It's most probably cognitive decline that caused him to make this decision, financial pressure or not.
Brings back memories of Ohio and my best friend. Her Grandfather lived on their farm with the fam. Grandpa was in his late 70's and he had an airplane out under a pole barn in the middle of a field. For years everytime I was there he was out working on that plane. I asked my friend if he ever flew in it....and she said no....he was just working on it. Her Mom then said.....that plane is never going up in the air but Grandpa doesn't know that. This, keeps him happy, busy...tinkering away at it.
You mean you don’t like seeing 50% empty blue sky and 30% empty green grass in your vertical video, Juan?!? 😂🙄
I always appreciate your restraint which doesn't hamper you making clear statements of fact and offering your professional opinion.
FYI proper Missouri pronunciation of Kearney, MO is "Car-knee". Mosby is "Moe's-bee". Just a little local knowledge for ya.
The person filming this didn’t seem to think it was going to go well. Guessing that’s why they were filming? Did they know him and the situation with the plane or just coincidence that they were filming? Many questions
Good point.
When the photo of the aircraft is from the field behind the hangers... Yikes
Ferry permits do not make you exempt to basic flight requirements like power and airspeed.
yep, the laws of physics can't be pencil whipped
I’m usually reluctant to find any capriciousness whatsoever in a fatal accident but in this case I must make an exception. It appears to be a clear-cut case of suicide by aircraft.
One poor decision, followed by another, and another, until they crash the airplane. If they are lucky, they walk away. That scenario is being played out weekly it seems. Unfortunately he wasn't lucky that day, and didn't walk away. So very sad. My deepest condolences for the family and friends who now grieve their loss.
I once did an inspection on a Skymaster that was kept in a field uncovered for long periods and the damage done by rats and mice was amazing since they chew up wires, etc. (Removing dead ones is assigned to the newest A&P).
I know of a Seneca sitting IN a hangar for 3 month that had been mouse infested and had tens of thousands dollars worth of damage due to them little ctritters...
I think you nailed it, Juan. It's easy to just call the pilot foolish, but to understand the financial or time pressures that can cause someone to disregard their better judgment is something every pilot should be alert to.
The engines had to be removed and gone through regardless. It should have been disassembled on site and trucked to location.
I worked at mattituck aviation. One time a guy came in a big twin Cessna . We gave him a price for engine overhaul . We red tagged his rat engine , it was making so much metal. He didn’t like our price. He got a cheaper price in Texas , he took off on 2200 ft run way on both engines. Then flew to Texas on one engine😂
"Texas"
Every shady, half assed, semi criminal deal in business aviation I've ever been involved with, has come out of Texas.
Not all......but given relatively equal pricing, and a choice between an unknown Texas shop, and one north of the Mason-Dixon, I'm going with them Yankees every time.
Like the repaint on a C-750 the pilot was getting quotes on. "Legit" shops (Duncan, West Star) were quoting around $100k.
A shop in the DFW area quoted $25k. I was asked to review the bid. For starters, anyone with half a brain knew they were cutting corners somewhere.
I made a laundry list of questions that I had. Might as well have talked it over with the gerbils at the pet store. You can probably guess whose bid they took.
Needless to say, it didn't turn out well. The problems started a couple of weeks before the completion date, when all the employee (bi-weekly) paychecks bounced.
The takeoff run looked more like a high-speed taxi.
I agree. The owner undoubtedly knew better. This is why he tried to hire somebody else to ferry the plane. 🤷♂️
That fuel leak would have scared the hell out of me....
One of those instances where "if I don't reach X speed by the camera man... we will abort takeoff..."
..like a run-up OF DESPERATION.
He could have put it down in the field before the trees. What a bizarre series of decisions by this apparently experienced (but old) pilot.
@@MeppyManI thought the same. Perfectly good field to set it back down on. The last of many opportunities to back out.
@@MeppyMan I agree, crashing in that field and making the insurance claim yourself would be much better than the final result just 1/2 mile later.
That takeoff speed barely looked like a fast taxi, frightening! Thanks, Juan for just reporting the facts and not putting ego and attitude into a conclusion like another accident reporting TH-camr.
Yeah I bet my Jeep could have beat that Piper in a drag race YIKES!
Why do these stories always seem to start with “the pilot-mechanic”? Reminds me of the B-17 crash. I don’t even change my own oil.
@@goldeneaglejk2678 at least not without having an oil analysis and opening the filter to check for anything unusual. Long story short if you’re going to invest in $100,000 plus airplane what’s the cost of an oil change, right?
@@LowWingFlyer The major fuel leak is the key point. The bladders were dry rotted to the point where they probably contaminated the fuel with small particles of rubber not to mention what else was growing in there.
@@bovineknievel410 yes, for the life of me, why would anyone still take off when they see something like that?
We have a very similar Navajo at our field. These engines weren't even close to full power, I can't understand how he would continue. He should have hired those experienced Navajo pilots to at least do some high speed taxi tests or something.
These are the actions that make my twin insurance rates increase unnecessarily. I grieve for the family.
With 2,500+ hours in PA31 variants and tail (we call it rego) numbers flying around the Australian outback as my main job for a number of years, I can say I ferried a PA31-350 with gear down for 200 miles because of a broken microswitch which made the gear retraction impossible. The best I got in an otherwise perfectly serviceable airframe was 120 KIAS approx. and seriously reduced climb performance. Luckily it was under VFR conditions, and I could stay low and slow. Once I finally landed back at home base (YBAF), I made a mental note not to do *that* again. During the exemplar video take-off roll, there was a definite audible beat/split in power between the two sides. I would have rejected that take-off - the pilot would have had a very asymmetric rudder input to stay even on the runway.
You could see it once he became airborne. The plane precessed to the right rather severely until it cleared the horizon. I wonder what the wind conditions were.
"There are a lot of parts inside those engines, and all they want to do is...GET OUT!" said a corporate pilot who used to fly one. On a cold winter day, he would arrive very early for a flight, get the plane outside and run it up until it was nice and toasty. Then when the passengers arrived for the flight he would be nearly ready to go when they were. The engines have a 1200 hour TBO, for good reason.
He had to have known half way down that runway the engines were not performing enough for a take off, especially with gear down. Such a waste of life and a what could have been a beautiful airplane with the proper care and maintenance.
I'd rather lose my shirt than what's inside my shirt. Better to be broke than broken.
OH my ...how horrible ...Doug was highly respected member of our EAA chapter! From the testimonies of friends at his memorial service I understood he was ferrying the aircraft as favor for the owner! NOT that he was the owner!????
The registry does show a different owner. I know those are horribly out of date sometimes, but I unless it changed hands in the last year or two, the pilot did not appear to be the owner.
Fatally poor decision making whoever the pilot was. I'm thinking it was someone with a big watch and shiny big brass ones; we've all know the kind at one time or another when we've been around airports long enough.
I’d be curious to know if the owner informed Doug of the three other declines to fly it.
So why on earth would he have continued the takeoff if he had no financial interest at stake?
God rest him
We had a guy trying to fly a British Beagle 206 out of a local airport back in 2002. Very similar circumstances. Airplane sat for a long time. Pilot couldn't get the engines started. Mechanic drained almost 3 gallons of water out. Pilot filled up but no one observed him sumping fuel. A witness observed the airplane use almost all the runway and barely climb. He stalled and spun into a local neighborhood. The airplane sprayed avgas all over the front of a house and set it on fire. If I'm not mistaken, they determined the left engine wasn't making power at time of impact, and to crash into that neighborhood you had to make a left turn. So he was turning into the dead engine. Also, I believe the aircraft was out of annual by a year.
Wtf
the real question is "what was he feeling--emotionally--" rather than "what was he thinking". what emotional state led him to discount major components of reality??? what is obvious, is that this pilot did not perform and "IMSAFE" checklist.
What a nightmarish plane. A doomed flight from the start.
I learned a long time ago that some airplanes you can get into for cheap (relatively) but they are very very expensive to maintain putting you squarely behind the eight ball 🎱.
Nothing more expensive than a cheap twin.
@@scarybaldguycheap twins are always hell. If you’re not paying at least half a million expect at least one major 5 figure bill to bring the plane up to code
this type of outcome is often the result of someone having more confidence in his flying abilities than he does of the characteristics of the aircraft he is flying. An aircraft sitting in the elements from 2015 - 2023 with rubber fuel bladders shouldn't have gone anywhere near the skies with fuel leakage on top of that. Rest in peace, but he should still be here. As you said, Juan, he had PLENTY OF TIME to reject that takeoff.
The same guys that buy these are the same guys buying 500 series Citations for $300k, and think they got a bargain.
They then "update" their bargain, by adding ADS-B, and some kind of Garmin retrofit STC.
In the meantime, the 40 year old airframe, and all of its components are "okay as is". One of the problems being that spares for these airplanes are getting harder to find, at any price.
Like Hs-125 or Astra/G100 windshields. Or early Citation pressurization controllers. Or standby horizons/altimeters/airspeed indicators. A lot of stuff is now totally unsupported. Exchange pools are going the way of the dodo.......nobody wants to invest in exchange parts for airplanes also going the way of the dodo.
And even if the OEM of the component is not watching the grass grow from the wrong side of the turf line, they can't get parts. Or anybody who will work for what they are willing to pay. So "lead times" for repairs are pushing 60-90 days, assuming you can find someone to work on it. Who will then charge you $600-1000 up front, before they will even look at it.
Here's a new phrase for your aviation phrase book:
"Uneconomic to Repair". All you guys flying old and/or low production airplanes will be hearing it a lot.
If you follow anything that's going on in GA, you will know that there are a bunch of pilots who think inspections and maintenance are just excuses by mechanics to steal money from them.
Instead of having full time mechanics for their airplanes, they either do without, and live with problems until they become impossible to ignore, or sign on with "management companies" that have 5-10 mechanics covering 15-20 airplanes, with some of them on different airports (or even different states).
After 40 plus years working on bizjets, and recently been given a choice between taking a 25% pay cut, or quitting, I'm done....... either retiring a little early, or taking a better paying job with more respect that has nothing to do with aviation.
I've been telling pilots/managers who will listen about these upcoming issues for 10-15 years. Hardly any of them do. Like classic cars, shiny new paint and interiors seem to magically revive everything on the airplane.
Excellent report Juan. My condolences to the family.
Low power production, leaky fuel tanks, non-airworthy plane. What could go wrong DID go wrong.
I have a bunch of time maintaining a p Navajo as well as standard Navajo and chieftains. The p Navajo uses 425 hp tigo-541 lycomings. An absolute beast of an engine. That sounded like maybe 70% power. There are a series of valves and pumps in the wing roots. Fuel selector, 2 boost pumps, a fuel strainer, and a firewall shutoff valve. I suspect one of these had a large leak and partially starved the engine. There is also the problem with the turbo. These babies should make 54 inches of manifold pressure at 3200 rpm (geared engine).
Everyone knows what they should sound like - it's a very distinctive buzzing sound. No buzz - something dreadfully wrong.
@@josephoberlander you should hear it with 4 blade Mt composite props
@@josephoberlander I also wouldn't say everyone. They didn't build very many before the much more sensible Cheyenne came out.
@@paynej32013 ooo :) I bet it's even louder. lol.
I know people right now who are operating aircraft on a shoestring, but since I have 9k hours and they have 15-20k hours, I'm still just a puppy who is yet to come around to their level of experience and understand their logic.
My hypothesis is that whenever one is tempted to ask, "what were they thinking", the answer is that they may not have been thinking nearly enough.
Rephrase the question thus "What - were they thinking ?"
Unbelievable that someone would sign off on that crap
Thanks Juan, outstanding report. Stubbornness kills.
It can, for sure. In a hurry going nowhere.
He didn’t deserve to die, but man he’s stupid. He had every opportunity to reject the TO & not to mention just wait for the plane to be in an airworthy condition
So many opportunities to reject that takeoff and live. Even after he ran out of runway, he could have still ditched it in the field. Did he think the engines would suddenly magically heal themselves and start producing?
This accident is particularly troubling...I can't imagine an FAA FSDO giving that airplane a ferry permit...I've ferried some real junkers, but not until they had at least rudimentary maintenance to bring them up to an airworthy condition. Ferried a 1965 Cherokee 180 that had sat for over 10-years! Which led to more ferry flights of more aerial junks...Later flying cancelled checks for a 135 operator, the airplanes weren't a whole lot better!
old pilots, bold pilots...
When I was working for a certain major airline here in the US I was a Captain sitting reserve. I was called and assigned to "ferry" a DC-9 with a flap problem of some sort. I was NOT part of Flight Ops Management and they certainly DID NOT have a valid ferry permit issued. I refused and immediately informed my union of this violation.
I've known people that have their own ideas about things and no matter what you say, you can not talk them out of bad ideas. Unfortunately, this guys' bad idea killed him.
Stupid TH-cam trends of abandoned this that or the next thing found will it fly, work, drive
Oh man, I hope the person filming the takeoff wasn't a close friend or loved one.
I don't ask for a ferry permit until i know an aircraft has normal gross weight takeoff performance. A max power taxi to rotation speed followed by a coast down at idle, is really useful. This one definitely didn't have the requisite performance. The immediate goal after taking off, is to climb to at least 3000 feet before proceeding on course. SAD story.
As he went by it looked as if he was gonna drive it to its location.
I'm a 30+ year AG pilot, seen a lot of wild stuff but that takeoff made me squeamish.
I Hated doing Hit checks (health indicator tests) on both engines every flight when I was a crewcheif on uh60s'...But that's how I'm still alive with 1000+ hours and one PL
Navajo driver here.
I can’t imagine how little boost that motor was making to not fly. We have a 310 we fly at gross 6850 with VG and that airplane comes of the ground effortlessly with 230 less horsepower.
One thing that's reality but not always easy to accept is the fact that we all have free will. The pilots that turned this down were the gentle equivalent of grabbing the keys from his hands. But, he went anyway. It really defies logic and is hard to watch. God rest his soul.
I used to fly a bell 205 on forest fires in Canada one day (a very foggy day ) a forest officer want to go to the fire across a river from base camp ..5 pilots including me refused, visibility was horrid but he finally found a pilot to ferry him across the river.. That was the last we saw of him and the Pilot…they crashed halfway across in zero vis. Both killed, the pilot was experienced with thousands of hours on type ..to this day I don’t know what he as thinking ..just like an experienced pilot flying something not airworthy..to risk your life… I just don’t get the thought process
You sometimes see this with older professionals. Dale Earnhardt is a good example. He had access to a HANS device but didn't like wearing it. Would it have saved him? Maybe. But not having it certainly make it almost impossible to survive that crash. You get complacent as you get older to the fact that what you are doing is dangerous every time you do it. For instance, my grandfather ( as another example )... did woodworking for years and years. Then one day, well, he got a little sloppy and ended up with 1/3 less of one of his fingers. Skill and experience don't mean it's any less dangerous.
I'm retired after a long career in Aviation ...
I feel very Sad for this Man ...
And took note so it Won't happen to me.
68 now and 27k hours .
" You are as Good a Pilot as your last landing "
Reminds me of the Lynyrd Skynyrd incident; in that other crews refused to fly that bird.
I heard that the Aerosmith's crew turned down that aircraft prior. Skynyrd's manager wanted to cut costs for their trip, so sent them on that plane with badly tuned engines...the rest is history.
@@empireoflizards That is true. Tragic.
That thing was accelerating like an overgross 152 on a 10,000' DA day running on 3 cylinders. Terrifying the rocket scientists didn't abort.
As an A&P/ IA with a Commercial Pilot/Multi Engine. I have turned down several owners that have contacted me over the years wth airplanes that have been sitting for 9 to 10 years without some much as running the engines and want an annual inspection so they can unload the airplane. I let them know up front what would be involved and what I expect. Have always turned them down. I had my Pilots license first. When I went to the FSDO to get my A&P certificate the old inspector gave me the best advise. He said " the most dangerous thing in the world is a pilot with a tool box"! I have run across more bad decision making cheap owners in my career. 😮
A recent accident involving owner maintenance (see his You-Tube channel) was a Piper Malibu totaled on landing after the nosewheel didn't align after gear extension. Owner had just paid for new engine and avionics and was planning a new interior and possible sale or trade for a new plane. Owner admitted he tried to adjust the nosewheel strut or scissors himself without consulting factory service, possibly to save money. I think part of this is the FAR's don't mandate good judgement, it's assumed pilots already possess that. This was difficult to watch, no acceleration past the camera and no abort.
Just because you see a person sitting on a motorcycle, that does NOT mean you saw a biker, let alone a proficient one. Just because you see a person with a wrench in his hand, that does NOT mean you just met a mechanic... AND Just because you saw a person sitting in an airplane, that does NOT mean you just saw a pilot.
I've met a LOT of machine owners and operators with collections of tools. I've seen a LOT of truly REMARKABLY EGREGIOUS flaws and outright failures in the decision-making paradigms of the people using those tools trying to fix just about everything... as "relatively minor" as taking the guards off a tablesaw, to as ridiculous as paperclips, old nails, and random wires run through the keeper holes and slots on automotive axles keeping the hubs in place... People BETTING THEIR LIVES on these gambles, and 90% of them are entirely about being too cheap and lazy to walk to the parts place and buy the requisite hardware to fix it properly...
Just the axle... That keeper hole/slot configuration is SUPPOSED to be held in place by a COTTER PIN... It's not even a special kind of one! It's going to cost 15 Cents... and the time to go get one and install it properly... BUT no. Let's put a nail in and BEAT IT OVER WITH A HAMMER instead... That oughta do...
There's a LOT of really dangerous people out there being dangerous entirely because they have this mistaken ideal that JUST knowing the difference between a claw hammer and a wrench qualifies them to work on ANYTHING... at all. ;o)
@@bernieschiff5919as a certified diesel mechanic...I agree 100% with your comment. I've seen it all in my 25+ years as diesel mechanic. Especially when it comes to wiring. Open up the dash and it a literal rats nest of wires ...all going to a big glob where they get power. Ive put the dash back together and said " I can't help you"! Or get the cutters and start cutting. Snip snip snip throwing handfuls of wires out on the floor. And these are dump trucks and heavy equipment that don't leave the ground,mostly. I can only imagine what some fool would try in an aircraft.
My ex boss had his private pilot certificate for over 15 yrs..He was from Venezuela.He currently had a 18 wheeler trucking business and a diesel engine repair shop based out of Orlando FL...He bought an old Cessna 152 and was repairing it ,I assumed with a certified aviation mechanic... Obviously I guess he tried to save money and scam the system!! He took off in his 152 single engine airplane with 2 of his buddies.Had engine issues,lost power and instead of immediately push that nose down he fought it!! Stalled the old plane killed himself and his buddies.. Another pilot with a tool box!! Your saying makes total sense to me now!! RIP Ernesto!!
@@carloscortes5570last time I checked a 152 is only a two seat plane. Thinking that was part of his problem 😂
Is there any way to find out what Doug was saying on the radio during all of this?
@blancolirio could we get a rundown from you on that N28JV Beechcraft that crashed in Malaysia killing 10 total about 5 days ago ? Thanks!!!! Love all your work
This probably started with the title picture of the plane sitting in the field. It looked pretty nice, very tempting to do a little bit of work on it and have a nice plane cheap.
Or maybe he watched "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo".
That is frightening
Its crap like this that keeps me on MSFS on the ground.
This is a little like one of those "will it run and drive 300 miles home" videos, except with not being able to pull over at the parts store for more whatever.
I can think of a few YT channels in particular...
Man, it was so obvious he wasn't making enough power. My goodness, what was so important that he had to make that flight that day. Another one that was so unnecessary!!
"SPECIAL FLIGHT PERMITS" are the FAAs way of letting you move an unairworthy airplane to a shop for repair. Basically, they let the owner/pilot become the "certifying authority", and make the a/w call.
As an FAA buddy told me once "we'll give an SFP to a grilled cheese sandwich, if some guy says he thinks it's safe to fly"
Note that one of the typical requirements of an SFP is a flight plan by as direct a route as possible to the maintenance shop that avoids populated areas.
I'd love to see a copy of application for the SFP, and see what was mentioned, and what wasnt.
Wow...a 5500' runway....and he used it all? ...plenty of room to try high speed taxis.
Sad/inexcusable.
My dad's best friend was an old pilot. He flew commercially to age 75. His longest ride was in a Navajo like this. He was the mechanic as well as the pilot. Paul would have it no other way. He parted ways with the company when the owner's son insisted on flying. After the son committed a gear-up landing, he stayed on long enough to rebuild the Navajo, then went to another company where he completed his commercial pilot career.
I know so many bad cases involving "the owner's son".
@@SteamCraneme too, and they have nothing to do with aircrafts or pilots... Entitlement is dangerous, especially at work places involving big machinery.
A reasonable person would get it after the SECOND ferry pilot noped. A reasonable person would have rejected that take off.
Thank you. Since the Kobe Bryant incident, I have non-aviation friends that have subscribed after watching that series of vids. I appreciate your breakdowns and look forward to seeing more STOL stuff.
@blancolirio - can you give us your thoughts on the N53RP crash - single pilot operation of a Beechcraft C99 (operating as Wiggin 1046).
Very strange case.
Loss of situational awareness, coupled with icing?
I bet they were filming a "You WONT BELIEVE what we found in the FREE Airplane! WILL IT RUN??? | Sponsored by Flying Eyes" TH-cam video.
"Will it run"? is the single most ignorant question used by many u tubers-Aaargh!
Alan Douglas Moler, known as Doug, passed away on July 20, 2023, leaving behind a legacy that will forever be cherished. Born on January 19, 1944, Doug lived a life filled with adventure, passion, and a deep love for aviation. Doug's career soared to great heights as a Retired Captain for Continental Airlines. With an impressive tenure of 20 years, he considered himself incredibly fortunate to have been able to make a living doing what he loved most - flying. His unwavering dedication and expertise in the field of aviation earned him the respect and admiration of his colleagues and peers.
Doug should have taken the advice of those three ferry pilots before he endangered himself and everybody under his flight path.
I wonder how the writer of that obituary would have written given the assignment to eulogize Adolf Hitler. " Adolf was a leader among men..."
@@williamford9564Stupid analogy. A pilot who made a terrible mistake is not Hitler, and when writing about the totality of a well-lived life you don’t let one mistake override the rest.
Sad truth is that for many, decision making is impacted in the late 70s. His stupid mistake doesn’t take away a lengthy and honored career.
Almost 80 years old, flying solo an old, unairworthy airplane!. Not good!
@@sergiothepilot It’s sometimes very difficult taking the keys away from some seniors.
Ferry Pilot #1 "Don't wanna die... Ferry Pilot #2 "Don't wanna die" Ferry Pilot #3 I know other ferry pilots, they are better than I
Owner with 100' to end of runway... Maybe Pilot 1 was correct..
at threshold Pretty sure pilot 2 was correct..
Just before impact "Might should have listened to ferry pilot 3.....
Basic airmanship says to reject that takeoff when it's obvious the plane isn't gaining the required airspeed. Instead, he continued the takeoff roll until the very end of the runway then forced it off.
Looks like the pilot would have been better off aborting with a runway overrun than what actually happened.
Reminds me of the B-17 crash. Owner-pilot-mechanic is a bad combination, Sorry Juan.
Tragic.
This has to be near the top of the list for one of the worst cases of, "Get There itis"!
I would like to know if the FAA is looking at the mechanic who filled out the flight waivers for the ferry flight.....
I think he was the pilot.
The FAA has nothing to do with safety. :(
Yeah, that guy is hiding at his lawyer's office.
Doing that kind of thing, it's as if he had a death wish. Or just a refusal to accept the danger of what he was attempting. To try to fly with the engines developing so little power is hard to fathom. There was something going on with either a lack of fuel flow, or the engines had lost their compression from sitting so long. But not getting enough fuel seems the likely culprit.
Garbage in the fuel distributor on each engine. Relatively simple fix.
How is the leaking fuel not a Haz-Mat violation that should be reported to ARFF and remedied before granting access to a runway? Are the fueling trucks not obligated to report fuel leaks?
Because I read codes as a part of my job I just read this code section: "1106.11.5 The Fire Department shall be notified if... the fuel flow(leak) is continuous."
I never refueled aircraft but I used to haul fuel and ANY spill had to be reported. Over 20L and the government was involved
if it's a towerless airport all the fueler can do is tell them it's leaking, document and notify the airport. other than that there isn't much they can do to stop him.
What ARFF?? Most airports don't have them.
@@Bottleworksnet It was just my shorthand for fire department. My wish going forward is that they don't issue ferry tickets to leaking aircraft. Guess not.
Juan's disgust at filming in vertical mode made me chuckle.
Well, I agree with him. Put it in "landscape" mode and the picture looks so much better.
Me too!
That P-Navajo shoulda been left in the weeds, stripped of the engines and defueled (or dewatered) so the owner's grandkids could play Sky King in it. What was the owner/pilot thinking indeed.
looks and sounds like a money vs maintenance issue - the plane isn't at fault, its simply old and parts fail, and probably not updated
i watch Jimmy's World, and i have to say i take my hat off to him, he may rescue planes with a similar history, but he sure does throw some money at them, he knows what's likely to go wrong and gets them upgraded, the engine and fuel tank issues seem pretty common on these twin engine planes, fuel between tanks and wing tip tanks especially, then magnetos and all the electrics that make the lightning rods go ping - it sounds pretty hairy when other pilots turned down the offer, it's a near nail in the coffin i think
RIP to the pilot
Looking at the paperwork, it looks like the plane was originally from a small airstrip 12 miles away (Mosby, Missouri). This might explain it - that they were planning on making several short flights to get to Kingman, Kansas (About 200 miles further), and had made the first one successfully?
@@josephoberlander its a real shame there isn't a gadget to measure LUCK, when it runs out don't fly - sadly so much is down to luck, it really makes you wonder especially here in the UK when old planes crash the rules of aviation become tighter, maintenance and so on
@@josephoberlander My guess is they were doing hops because the fuel leakage was so severe.
"Will it run?" is fine for some 50 year old vehicle that one finds in a field. If it doesn't work out, wait for the next video)
"Will it fly?" Nope. Just don't...
Looking at the Lake Oroville water level Juan...862ft & rising.....Gonna be full in August it seems...Is this a first...?
All too often people take chances they should not take. Complex aircraft are not to be taken lightly. Too much to go wrong. The allure of these forgotten planes seems to be the relative cheap up front cost to purchase. However, underneath that exterior there is so much breakage to fix. "A Fool begins by saying foolish things." Ecclesiastes 10:13-20 R.I.P. to the pilot.
I had the opportunity to ferry a single once that was a hanger queen for 14 years. I looked the airframe over extensively and was satisfied, but the motor, it ran, had compression, didn’t leak but I was not comfortable with it so I passed!
Intuition has saved by bacon a number of times in 40years of flying!
It did make it to the destination safely!
Three. Three. It obviously wasn't a charm. Sadly relatively close to me
I would be very interested to know if the CAA in UK would have granted such a permit. I know that many states in USA are very lax on the inspection of road vehicles, perhaps it's the same for aircraft?
Wow!! Worst case of get there itis I've ever seen. It was quite obvious that plane was a wounded duck just listening to those engines. He could have put it in the grass at the end of the runway too. I feel bad for them but lord, you have to have some common sense.
Juan ... great review. I live in Kearney (pronounced like Carne ... asada) and this made the front page of the paper. Yes, what was the last pilot thinking??? One more minor correction ... Mosby (with a long O sound).
Yes, having grown up in the Kansas City area, Missouri is infamous for unintuituve pronunciations of several city names, to trip up the uninitiated...
Versailles (verSALES)
Nevada (nehVAYduh)
Cape Girardeau (jirAREdough)
:)
@@big_beak And, don't forget Auxvasse (Ah-Vahz),
@@big_beakit’s Midwestern or maybe American. Illinois has a small Teheran, tuh-HAIR-un.
Should have just popped the wings off and packed it up onto a skateboard and shipped it to Kansas. I mean yeah, little more expensive but cheaper than a funeral
I’ve done this twice now, the first flight after a long time out of service (my personal plane was sat for a decade almost). You have to be SO careful, I had an FAA IA fly down and monitor the work that was done.
My worry is if something went wrong, my report would sound an awful lot like this. It took us 3 weeks of engine runs and chasing problems around and witnesses’ would absolutely have said ‘his engine isn’t running right’ etc. Even though everything was done safely.
Hence I would love to hear more about the mechanic for this one, did he do all that? Or just kick the tyres and go flying? Why was the fuel leaks left alone? And who on earth doesn’t at least sort the engines out before flying?
This is why I say engine failure is more than twice as likely in a twin - because there is the temptation to operate the aircraft with one engine in less than optimal condition, relying on the other one. When I only have one, if it isn't running right it's pretty easy for me to say "not today" rather than "it'll be fine.
You know, they don't publish a best rate of climb speed for gear down and one engine making 50% power, only for clean with both engines at maximum - set himself up to be the test pilot and didn't last long enough to figure it out (if it was even possible, which it might not have been).
My dad is also retired Continental (after F-100s and F-105s for USAF). I was really surprised when his last Continental trip was actually his last flight. He had been a partner in 4 planes and about half the hangers at the local airport. He said he had know to many guys who didn't know when to hang up the spurs, so he was going to err on the safe side - and that mom had worried about him for almost 40 years, and she didn't need to anymore. They have too many friends who are the widows of pilots. Dad is 88 now, and has been retired from Continental longer than he was there. He hasn't spent a night away from mom since 1995, except for a couple weeks in Oshkosh. My three kids were born after he retired, and it's kind of amazing that none of them ever rode with him as the pilot, and never looked up wondering if it was him when they heard a plane - but I'm really glad he's been around to know them.
@@richsarchet9762 that is the best story on here, your nearly 90-year old father gave your mom the ultimate gift and kind consideration; I remember my mom cringing when dad would circle to land in his twin-engine Beech. A lot of the time I was in the right seat, good memories.
You crazy old goat
At what point does it just make more since to buy a new plane than to try and fully restore a plane that had sit for 10 years? I would imagine the cost of having someone from the faa fly to your location then be there just to monitor the process would be enough for a nice down payment on an a new model the equivalent of the plane you were fixing up. I once restored a 94 sunbird my sister crashed that sat in my mom's garage for 2 years back in 2004. So the car was only 10 years old and spent 2 years in a garage. Everything that was rubber (besides the tires) had to be replaced. Everytime I would change a hose, especially one carrying coolant, another hose in its circuit would bust until every single one had been replaced. This was just one of the many problems I had working on a car that had sat in a garage for 2 years. So I can't imagine how many problems a plane would have that sat in a field for 7 years or 10 years wherever you had yours sitting.
@@bradsanders407 It does make more sense, but what if everyone did that? We’d run out of planes FAST. Its up to us in this hobby to keep these planes flying rather than let them rot.
Not to mention on my plane I’ll know every piece of maintenance work that was done, so I’m not paying for unknown maintenance that may or may not match the logs but I have to just trust them.
I’m not paying for someone elses paint job, I can have the plane looking the way I want it rather than the value add that a new paint scheme is.
I’m not paying for avionics that the last guy thought was important, I get to put what I want/need for my requirements.
Also, I’m not just another in a long line of owners, I’m not just the pilot etc. I have a much more personal connection with my plane if I’m the one that restored it to flight. After all, this is a hobby, its for fun, and I enjoy the idea of flying MY Comanche around, not just a Comanche.
Why didn't the pilot decide at the end of the runway not to get airborne at all, but drive all the way home? 🙃